Predator at the Chessboard A Field Guide to Chess Tactics. Book I: Introduction The Double Attack The Discovered Attack

265 Pages·2008·3.827 MB·English

by  Suzanne Collins

Predator at the Chessboard

A Field Guide to Chess Tactics

Book I: Introduction
The Double Attack
The Discovered Attack

Ward Farnsworth

www.wardfarnsworth.com
Copyright © 2007 by Ward Farnsworth.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.
ISBN 978 -1- 4303 - 0800 - 03
Book I: Table of Contents

Introductory Matters
1.1. A Short Guide to the Book 8
1.2. Rationale for the Project 9
1.3. The Elements of Tactics: A Primer 12
1.3.01. The Double Threat 12
1.3.02. The Loose Piece 12
1.3.03. The forcing Move 13
1.3.04. Strategy vs. Tactics 14
1.4. Notation, Jargon and the Value of the Pieces 15
1.4.01. Notation and Jargon 15
1.4.02. The Value of the Pieces 17
1.4.03. Making the Site Easier to Read 17
1.4.04. About the Dinosaurs 17
1.4.05. Hard Copies 18
1.5. Acknowledgments and Bibliography 18
1.6. Chess in Literature: Some Interesting Allusions 21

The Double Attack
2.1. The Knight fork
2.1.01. Introduction 25
2.1.02. Seeing Potential Forks 26
2.1.03.The Pinned Guard 28
2.1.04. Exchanging Away the Guard 31
2.1.05. Distracting the Guard 34
2.1.06. Getting Out of Your Own Way 42
2.1.07. Unsuitable Targets 44
2.1.08. Playing Defective Knight Forks 48
2.1.09. Checking the King into Position 54
2.1.10. Using Multiple Checks 61
2.1.11. Using Mate Threats to Force Pieces into Position 65
2.1.12. Strategic Implications 67
2.1.13. Summary 70
2.2. The Queen Fork
2.2.01. Introduction 71
2.2.02. Simple Cases: Forking the King and a Loose Piece 72
2.2.03. Using the Side of the Board During the Opening 76
2.2.04. Making the Forking Square Available 79
2.2.05. Loosening the Target by Exchanging It 82
2.2.06. Loosening the Target by Disabling its Guards 84
2.2.07. Moving the Enemy King into Position 86
2.2.08. Clearing the Path to the Forking Square 90
2.2.09. Clearing Paths to the Targets 93
2.2.10. More Complicated Cases 98
2.2.11. Using Mate Threats 102
2.2.12. Mate Threats with Attacks on Underdefended Pieces 109
2.2.13. Other Mating Threats 111
2.2.14. Attacking Two Loose Pieces 114
2.2.15. Attacking Two Loose Pieces: More Procedures 118
2.2.16. The Enemy Queen as a Target 122
2.2.17. Summary: Strategic Implications 125
2.3. The Bishop Fork
2.3.01. Introduction 128
2.3.02. Bishop Forks One Move Away 131
2.3.03. Loosening the Forking Square 132
2.3.04. Loosening the Target and Forking Square 133
2.3.05. Moving the King into Position, etc. 135
2.3.06. Bishop Forks of the King and Queen 138
2.3.07. Bishop Forks of Other Pieces 140
2.3.08. Playing Defective Bishop Forks 144
2.3.09. Strategic Implications 146
2.4. The Rook Fork
2.4.1. Introduction 148
2.4.2. Simple Cases 149
2.4.3. Creating a Target 151
2.4.4. Moving the King into Position 152
2.4.5. Clearing Paths 155
2.4.6. Working with Mate Threats 157
2.4.7. Strategic Implications 158
2.5. The Pawn Fork
2.5.1. Introduction 159
2.5.2. Exchanges to Create Working Pawn Forks 160
2.5.1. Forcing Pieces into Place with Threats and Checks 162
2.5.4. Forks B y Marching Pawns 166
2.5.5. Strategic Implications 170

The Discovered Attack
3.1. Bishop Discoveries
3.1.01. Introduction to Discovered Attacks Generally 173
3.1.02. Introduction to Bishop Discoveries 174
3.1.03. The Classic Pattern 175
3.1.04. The Unmasking Piece Makes a Capture or Threat 177
3.1.05. Drawing the Enemy King into Place 179
3.1.06. Drawing the Target into Place 181
3.1.07. Clearing Needed Lines 183
3.1.08. Horizontal Discoveries 187
3.1.09. Introducing the Discovered Check 191
3.1.10. Removing Impediments to Discovered Checks 193
3.1.11. The Bishop and Rook Mate 195
3.1.12. Other Large Threats By the Stationary Piece 197
3.1.13. Horizontal Discovered Checks 201
3.1.13. Two-steppers: Building the Kernel 203
3.2. Rook Discoveries
3.2.01. Introduction: Simple Cases 205
3.2.02. Threatening Mate 207
3.2.03. The Rook Discovers Check 211
3.2.04. Manufacturing Discovered Check 213
3.2.05. Two-steppers: Building the Kernel 217
3.2.06. The Windmill 220
3.3. Knight Discoveries
3.3.01. Diagonal Patterns 223
3.3.02. Vertical and Horizontal Patterns 225
3.3.03. Building Knight Discoveries 227
3.3.04. Working with Male Threats 230
3.3.05. More on Male Threats: Vertical and Horizontal Patterns 235
3.3.06. Discovered Check with the Knight 237
3.3.07. Discovered Checks with Preliminary Exchanges 239
3.3.08. Discovered Male Threats 241
3.3.09. Discovered Check Leading to Mate 242
3.3.10. Building the Kernel: Diagonal Patterns 246
3.3.11. Building the Kernel: Vertical and Horizontal Patterns 248
3.4. Pawn Discoveries
3.4.1. Introduction: Simple Cases 250
3.4.2. A Step Up in Complexity 252
3.4.3. Arranging Pawn Discoveries on Diagonals 254
3.4.4. Arranging Pawn Discoveries on Ranks and Files 259
3.4.5. Strategy and the Discovered Attack 261
Chapter 1.
Introductory Matters.

7
1.1. A Short Guide to the Site. If you want to skip any or all of this first part
and plunge into the specific lessons, you can
go back to the table of contents (there’s al-
Spectacular chess moves produce the same ways a link at the upper right corner of the
sorts of satisfactions as the climactic moments screen) and click on The Knight Fork or
of other great games: the slam dunk, the thir- whatever other topic sounds appealing. The
ty-foot putt, the home run. In chess these sections build on each other a bit, but most of
moves are known as tactics. This web site them can be enjoyed on their own with no
teaches them in detail. It assumes you know trouble if you prefer to dip in at random or
only how the pieces move and builds step-by- skip parts that get tedious. If you want to nav-
step from there. Every idea is illustrated with igate through these early parts or any of the
lots of examples, and every example is ex- other sections more precisely, click on the
plained in plain language that describes a train plus (+) signs in the table of contents to ex-
of thought leading from a problem to its solu- pand each menu. Or click at the top of the
tion. Funny-looking notation is held to a min- contents page to expand all the menus and see
imum. You can treat each example as a puzzle the entire structure at once (I recommend
and try to solve it before reading the explana- this). Or you can flip around by starting any-
tion, or just read the explanations as you go. where and using the arrows at the bottom of
The object throughout is to provide a teaching each screen to go page by page. (Clicking on
tool that makes the secrets of chess easy for the forward (>) arrow at the lower right cor-
anyone to understand. It's a chess book for ner of this page, for example, will walk you
people who think they don’t like chess books. through the rest of this first section.)
(The site also has a new section—the Chess
Quizzer—that lets you test your understand- This site aspires to be the most detailed and
ing by working on positions chosen at random systematic treatment of basic chess tactics yet
and with their explanations hidden.) published. It also is meant to be the most con-
genial to those who like things explained in
You can start reading anyplace. The rest of English. How far it succeeds, and where it
this first section gives a fuller account of the might be improved, the reader will judge; I
idea behind the site and how it differs from welcome corrections and suggestions, and
existing books; then comes a primer on the apologize in advance for the inevitable typos
most important general principles of tactics: or other glitches (and thank those who have
double threats, loose pieces, and forcing called such mistakes to my attention). All
moves (if those terms aren't old hat to you, the feedback can be sent by way of the link at the
explanations probably will be useful). Last are bottom center of every page.
some pages discussing further points of inter-
est to some but not others—the notation used Let us begin.
in the diagrams, acknowledgments, how to
change the look of the font, and other miscel- (cid:74) (cid:74) (cid:74)
lany.

After this introductory part there are five large
sections, one for each of the great families of
chess tactics: the fork; the discovered attack;
the pin and skewer; the removal of the guard;
and mating patterns. Within those sections are
a total of twenty chapters; within the twenty
chapters are nearly two hundred topics. Each
topic is illustrated with about a half-dozen
positions—occasionally fewer, and some-
times quite a few more.

8
1.2. Rationale for the Project. tion between tactics and combinations. We
won't.)
Why Tactics? N o w t h e r e a l s o a r e o t h e r t y p e s o f m o v e s y o u
can make in chess that aren't meant to win any
If you have played chess at all, you know it is pieces. Indeed, during a game you often will
easy for the two sides to trade pieces: your have no way to play one of those nifty tactical
knight takes my bishop, my pawn takes your sequences, so you instead try to improve your
knight, and we're even. But if your knight position: you put your pieces onto squares
takes my bishop and I can’t capture your where they have more room to move or are
knight, you gain an edge that probably will be aimed at a part of the board where you are
decisive. If one player has more pieces than trying to put together an attack; or you move
the other, he usually wins without much trou- your pieces around to fend off your oppo-
ble; between good players, a one-piece ad- nent’s attempts to launch attacks of his own.
vantage is enough to cause the disadvantaged This sort of play is called strategic. You are
party to resign. Thus the most important mo- working toward general, long-term goals, and
ments in a chess game generally occur when perhaps laying the groundwork for a tactical
you take one of your opponent’s pieces and strike of the sort described a moment ago.
he gets nothing back, or vice versa. When you make these sorts of moves you
may well not be seeing many moves ahead.
So how does it happen that one side takes You just are arranging your pieces the way
another side’s pieces for free? Between be- you like, and your opponent is doing the
ginners the common answer is that you wait same. Since you aren’t making any immediate
for your opponent to blunder by leaving a threats, your opponent is free to go about his
piece unguarded, then you just take it(cid:650)and business in ways that may be hard for you to
hope you aren’t the one to blunder first. Chess predict.
games that go this way aren't terribly interest-
ing, and they make it hard to understand what Strategy and tactics both are important, but
all the fuss over the game is about. tactics are more important. If you're a whiz at
finding clever moves that take your oppo-
The fuss arises because there are moves you nent’s pieces, you will be a terrifying oppo-
can make that force your opponent to cough nent, have a good time playing chess, and win
up pieces unexpectedly. All his men look lots of games regardless of whether you know
safe; but then you play a knight fork, a move a great deal about strategy. If you're a whiz at
in which your knight attacks two of his pieces strategy but not much good at tactics, you will
at once. He only has time enough (one turn) have trouble winning or having fun because
to move or protect one of them, so you take your pieces will keep getting taken. You cer-
the other for free. It's all very satisfying; and tainly want to know something of strategy;
it's even better when you first capture his you need ideas about what you can do with
bishop, and he recaptures; then you check his your pieces that will create eventual tactical
king, and it moves; and then you play the opportunities for them. We will talk about it
knight fork, winning a piece. What makes this along the way. The point is just comparative:
so pleasing is that you've planned the fork and if you want satisfaction, you had best start by
forced your opponent to step into it by play- learning how to play tactics(cid:650)how to spot and
ing a few initial moves that forced his replies. execute sequences of moves that allow you to
These sequences(cid:650)the little clusters of moves take your opponent’s pieces.
that win your opponent’s pieces(cid:650)are known,
again, as tactics. A tactical sequence generally What was said about strategy can be said as
is a short bunch of moves that wins material well about openings. You can spend enor-
(pieces or pawns) or that forces checkmate. mous time mastering the details of an open-
Such a sequence also is known as a combina- ing(cid:650)say, the Italian Game or the French De-
tion. (Some people quarrel over the distinc- fense. The yield of those efforts, in victories

9
and in fun, probably will be small. You fre- Most books about chess tactics follow one of
quently will find that your opponent’s play two patterns. Some describe important tactical
drags you away from the opening you studied; ideas—forks, pins, etc.—and explain their
and even if not, the payoff of a successful logic a bit, then provide perhaps a dozen ex-
opening usually is a minor advantage in posi- amples of how each tactic works. The other
tion. By itself the advantage will not win you sort of book presents pages of diagrammed
anything or bring you much pleasure. What problems for the reader to solve; the answers
will bring you immense pleasure, whether or usually are given in the back with minimal
not you know much about openings, is taking commentary. Both types of books are valua-
your opponent’s pieces. And to do that you ble, especially when used together, but I long
need to learn how to use tactics(cid:650)the weapon- have felt there was a place for a different ap-
ry of the chessboard. proach. This project attempts to fill the gap.
Its distinctive features can be summarized as
All this advice assumes you are not a strong follows:
player already. Once the material on this site
all is old hat to you, close study of openings Many examples, carefully organized. This site
and subtler points of strategy will make better goes into greater detail than other books do in
sense. One false move in the opening and explaining each type of tactic and how to
your goose is cooked if you are playing Garry overcome the various obstacles that can arise
Kasparov; but this is a site mostly for novices, in trying to make it work. There are about 80
so if you are reading it you probably should knight forks here, for example, and they are
not be planning to play Kasparov anytime broken down according to the different ways
soon. You should be planning to play others the tactic can look when it is lurking two or
of at least roughly your own strength (cid:650) pro- three moves away on an apparently placid
bably friends who are casual players, or op- chessboard. It may be that the square your
ponents at the local chess club or on the inter- knight needs is guarded but that the guard can
net. If you keep playing you will move on to be taken; it may be that the piece you want to
better players, but it still will be a long while fork is not very valuable but can be ex-
before a deep study of openings really pays changed for a more valuable piece; it may be
off. In the meantime all of your opponents (cid:650) that you do not yet have a knight fork but that
even the strong ones(cid:650)will give you plenty of after you check the enemy king a forking pos-
tactical opportunities; they will commit over- sibility will come into view. All of these pos-
sights that allow you to play pretty combina- sibilities, and many others, are illustrated with
tions and win pieces if you are sharp enough about a half dozen explanations apiece and
to see the chances for them. Acquiring this sometimes more. The process is repeated for
sharpness has nothing to do with memoriza- all the major tactical motifs: there are more
tion. It's a skill you gain by learning what than 100 queen forks, more than 300 pins,
clues signal that a combination may be possi- nearly 200 discovered attacks—all subdivided
ble, and by studying how to turn those clues into different ways each of these ideas can
into ideas that work. look when it is a couple of moves away from
perfection.

This method of organization makes it easier to
Why Another Book About Them? learn in a systematic way about tactics and the
issues that come up in using them. Every idea
Since tactics are the most entertaining and is shown in several contexts so that it will
important part of chess, it comes as no sur- sink in and the persistent features of the pat-
prise that there have been many books written tern become familiar to you. And the many
about them. This site—which amounts to an- examples of each complication also will make
other book, and not a short one—thus requires it easier to recognize patterns during your
a few words of justification. It differs from all games: you will start to sense that the position
the prior work in several important respects. on the board almost resembles a recognizable

10